Page 16 of Craving Stardust

“Swallow them with water.”

He tentatively placed them in his mouth and chewed, grimacing at how bitter they must be, before washing them down with the drink.

“I meant you were supposed to swallow them whole,” I said. Although, would they react with his body chemistry in the wrong way?

Well, there was no calling them back now. Hopefully, they’d help.

“Ah, yes.” With a frown, he placed the empty glass on the table. “They don’t taste good.”

“No, they don’t.”

“Something bad is good.”

“Supposedly.”

He nodded slowly.

After refilling his glass, I took the cinnamon rolls out of the oven, coating each with the orange frosting that came in the package. I took plates to the table and served us both, also pouring both of us a cup of coffee, placing his by his plate.

I nudged my chin to the steaming liquid and added cream to my mug. “I don’t know if you drink anything like coffee in outer space. It’s good. Adults drink it here each morning. It has caffeine, a stimulant, and it helps wake us up.”

His face creased with a frown. “You’re awake already, as am I.”

“I mean, like it really wakes us up.”

He stared down at the liquid, swallowing hard.

Lifting his mug, he sniffed it. “I’ve never smelled anything like it before.” A cute frown scrunched the green skin of his forehead. Like me, he added cream, watching as it swirled around, making it cloudy. “You’re sure it tastes good?”

“I promise. Although, not everyone enjoys coffee. Some prefer it with sugar, but I don’t. Try it first this way first.”

He held the mug with both hands, bringing it to his lips, and took a tentative sip. His breath caught. “It’s amazing. What is it made from?”

I explained how the beans were grown in mountainous regions and how they dried and ground the beans before we brewed them.

“I can feel it making me wake up further already,” he said. “Look at my eyes. They are wider, aren’t they?”

I laughed. “I think they are. Mine are too.” With a grin, I waved to the cinnamon buns. “If you think coffee is good, wait until you try these.”

“If you made them, I suspect they’re equally amazing.” He lifted one and popped the entire roll into his mouth. His eyes closed, and he groaned out his pleasure as he chewed.

My breath caught. My heart floundered. And heat flared deep inside me at the sound.

Fire plundered through my veins, flipping me this way and that.

Damn, he was hot when he drank coffee. Hot when he grabbed a second bun and stuffed it into his mouth and chewed.

And even hotter when he moaned out his appreciation for my very simple cooking.

If I wasn’t careful, I was going to fall in love with Lordek.

SIX

Lordek

She was my true mate, and I was falling in love with her. There wasn’t any other way to look at this.

Our relationship was doomed, however. She had a full life here she loved, and I doubted she’d want to leave with me within a few solar cycles, assuming I could get my ship to function again. Why would she want to leave everything she knew behind to be with a male she’d only interacted with for a few Earth days?

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